An unglamorous photo of my 4th of July cioppino. It was good 4th fare - especially fitting for the freezing "summer" weather here. I got fresh mussels, littleneck clams, prawns, and sea bass from the fish mart and served the soup with fresh corn on the cob(picked in Brentwood that morning). I also found some beautiful chioggia beets at the Fort Mason farmer's market which I roasted and marinated in a little vinegar and salt (no sugar was needed).
We had an interlude of fireworks (aka watching the fog change colors) at Alta Plaza Park after which we returned home for a generous helping of homemade apple pie (I like to put a bit of lemon zest in mine).
My first Thomas Keller meal - and I have nothing but savory remembrances. After a day of wine tasting and absorbing as much of the 90+ degree heat as possible, we made our way to Ad Hoc, Keller's establishment offering a four-course, $48 prix-fixe menu.
As our first course we were presented with a very straightforward salad with a melange of squash and endive accompanied by little sugar-bomb tomatoes. It was laid atop a luscious lemon cream dressing.
The salad was fresh and the vegetables were just cooked - celebrating them at the height of the season.For the main course, I had the pleasure of eating the most tender veal ever known. It was served in a cast iron pan alongside sous vide purple potatoes (finished under the broiler with a generous pat of butter), turnips (from the French Laundry's own garden), and morel mushrooms (oozing earthiness). and snagged bar seats at Keller's restaurant offering a four-course, $48 prix-fixe menu.
A delicious companion to the cheese (capra valtellina, an aged goat cheese) - local apricots with toasted almonds and a fig agrodolce. Everything worked together beautifully and when all taken in one bite it was exquisite.To close the meal we had a chocolate cake (imagine a moist dense instensely flavorful brownie) with a small piece of salted almond brittle and coconut ice cream (which we learned was made by the pastry chef who, for lack of an ice cream machine at the restaurant, had to run back and forth to Bouchon - Keller's bakery down the street - to make the dessert).
The new Off the Grid Event at Fort Mason - a foodie's dream gathering of street food trucks.
I made the rounds of the food trucks (ordered from three trucks but tasted from five - mmm) and Hapa SF was by far my favorite. I ordered the sigsig tacos (which for those of us not familiar with Filipino food is, I gather, pork in a soy-lime sauce) served with avocado salsa verde, radishes and cilantro. The pork was caramelized and lovely and all the sauces made it feel refreshing - and delicious. An added bonus - the "cashiers" were a father-daughter team (the little girl was probably 8) providing sweet service and a nice mom and pop shop ambience.
Kung Fu tacos was next on my list which was also good but didn't quite live up to Hapa (although they were only $2 a taco - which scores serious points with my miniscule budget). I tried the chicken taco and moo shu veggie tacos.
Waited in line to try Chairman Bao. I tried three different steamed bao - the pork belly with pickled cabbage, sesame chicken with scallions and bok choy (pictured here), and the duck confit with mango "salad." Maybe I was expecting too much, but I definitely felt let down. The breading was a bit dry, while the fillings were greasy and nothing special. To end on a good note, I thought the duck was the highlight - moist and fairly tasty and the mango added a nice acidity. In the end, I recommend passing on the fad and going to Out The Door for a chicken bun.
This evening I got a very special treat - a little Spruce 'take home.' I got a "double" appetizer portion (I happily could have eaten at least a quad) of their gnocchi with wild mushrooms, zucchini and some sort of glorious creamy sherry-y sauce. I have not had a bad Spruce experience and this meal upheld the record. I must say that in the privacy of my own home I, slightly ashamedly, took a quick lick of the plate so as not to miss out on any of the saucy-goodness.
Dinner at SPQR (thanks to BlackboardEats). Started off with creamy burrata, pepperonata, anchocress, and a drizzle of balsamic and we also tried the spring vegetable 'vignarola' - interesting salad with fresh lettuces, herbs, and lightly sauteed fresh veggies (peas, artichokes, etc.). The salad was good but I don't always love the wilty-sauteed texture in my salads - maybe I'm too much of a traditionalist. The burrata was scrumptious and a very generous serving of cheese.
We had three pasta dishes - the standout was the buckwheat spaghetti with a suckling pig ragu, broccoli rabe, and golden raisins.
For dessert I couldn't resist the brown sugar torte with lemon curd and candied kumquats. The torte was delicious and similar in flavor to sticky toffee pudding.
Love CUESA's "Iron-Chef" competitions, almost as much as a bag of tasty chicken heads. Homemade Saturday night dinner: seared ono with avocado, mango, and corn salsa served with 'forbidden' rice.
One of my favorite places in the bay area - Bakesale Betty in Oakland. Amazingly nice people accompanied by FANTASTIC food. I would like to keep it a secret because they don't seem to write it on the butcher paper menu (and everyone is busy ordering the fried chicken sandwich, which is also yummy), but . . . I adore the beef brisket sandwich with horseradish, potato chips, caramelized onions and arugula.
Heart Wine Bar in the Mission. House wine is $6.00 (quite good) served in mason jars - what's not to like.
Appetizer at Flour + Water of sea bass wrapped in speck. We also tasted the seared yellowtail appetizer with greens and fresh lemon. For dinner we shared the osso pizza (who doesn't love lumps of bone marrow on dough-y goodness), the zucca pizza (which had ricotta, squash, cerignola olives, and the un-advertised addition of lavendar), a delicious raviolini with shaved fresh porcinis, and chitarra verde with fennel, agrumato & prosecco braised mussels & clams. yumm. For dessert all but one of us declined, yet all of us enjoyed tasting the chocolate budino with sea salt. Delish.
Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building. Lunch at Il Cane Rosso (Porchetta sandwich with a dijon pickled cabbage and Beef Brisket sandwich with pickled onions and dandelion greens - mm).
Campton Place Restaurant - Ate here today for another Dine About Town meal. We had the carrot soup with a few spring pea morsels, herbs and a dollop of creme fraiche. For our main courses we had the steelhead trout (the most amazing crisped buttery skin) which came with two beautiful mussels out of the shell, spinach, and a deliciously creamy sauce AND the steak (fabulously tender and flavorful) with a veal jus, rapini, and potato velouté (hint of truffle). For dessert we had a lemon meringue tart with a raspberry sauce. The meal was delicious - yum yum.
I started my adventures in this city a year ago and I am entering the blogosphere with a simple motive - to document my experiences (with the land and its culinary culture) in San Francisco.
An unglamorous photo of my 4th of July cioppino. It was good 4th fare - especially fitting for the freezing "summer" weather here. I got fresh mussels, littleneck clams, prawns, and sea bass from the fish mart and served the soup with fresh corn on the cob(picked in Brentwood that morning). I also found some beautiful chioggia beets at the Fort Mason farmer's market which I roasted and marinated in a little vinegar and salt (no sugar was needed).
